User:Doug/How to make changes

The Constitution has a small section called Individual Action which outlines how people can approach doing things independently. This leaves a gap, considering that the majority of activity in Kanthaus falls under this category. This article is my attempt to generalize my observations and opinions about how to work in a way that avoids the "outstanding opposition" mentioned in the Constitution.

Do less

All other things being equal, the less that is done to solve a problem the better.

We had an issue that the fridge door was regularly being left slightly open. A sign was put on, yet the door was still sometimes left open. Discussion was had about ordering door alarms... Before that order was made, we screwed out the feet at the front to make the fridge tilt slightly backwards and we greased the hinge that was slightly corroded. The fridge door wasn't found open again after that.

Feedback

People bringing it should be aware it can be hard to hear; people have it brought to them should be aware it can be hard to tell. Being given feedback when doing a task can be particularly frustrating, since you are in the flow, but would you rather you received when you are finished? Is it really worth giving the feedback at all, will it lead to a different outcome? Here it is important to differentiate 'advice' and 'resistance'. Not clear? Ask/say explicitly.

Work in progress (WIP)

Not all projects can be finished straight away, that's OK. Tidy things up as best you can for now, leave a note with your name and date, and don't start another project til the first WIP is done.

Work estimation

Is hard. Books are written about it. You might have a good guess when exactly copying something you've done before, but with every new aspect of a new project comes an additional dimension of uncertainty. It can be emotionally challenging to start something and find out it's a much bigger task than you thought, and it might tempt you to rush...

Don't rush

Rushing leads to mistakes. Mistakes can mean a disappointing outcome, a social conflict or bodily injury.

Appropriate care

Let's say your building something:

if you're using abundant trash, just do it
if you're using stuff that is only periodically salvaged, measure before cutting
if you're using precious material, measure twice before cutting

Order of problem solving preference

improve design
add a sign
mention in
make a rule

Infrastructure principles

less is better than more
simple is better than complex
boring is better than interesting
low tech is better than high tech